Crime prevention
We work with the national police and agencies and in our local communities to help prevent crime.
In the UK, if required and requested by the Secretary of State, we have a legal responsibility to intercept mobile communications under the terms of the O2 general conditions for operating in the UK.
We comply with these rules under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and we are audited yearly by the Interception Commissioner on behalf of the UK Government.
RIPA also imposes on O2 UK the legal requirement to disclose communications data to specified law-enforcement agencies. In 2006, O2’s police liaison team responded to thousands of these requests.
Several of our UK security team’s investigators are accredited to the Advanced Professional Certificate in Investigative Practice, which includes training on human rights and data protection.
In some of our other markets we offer handset registration and can limit access.
In Germany we co-operate with law-enforcement agencies to fight crime wherever possible and, when appropriate, within the limitations of strict privacy laws. We have a legal obligation under the Telecommunications Act (TKG) to provide data from our networks to enable lawful interception of services and to help locate handsets.
Since 2005, O2 Germany has been involved in a pilot project to automate the exchange of data requested by authorities. If successful, the pilot project will mean we can respond faster to requests for data and provide better information.
In O2 Ireland, we run a Government Liaison Unit (GLU) to offer government agencies a single point of contact for information requests. This provides services to the police and defence forces, such as call-trace requests and location searches, in accordance with the law.
The unit also offers a 24-hour call service to the Irish Police Force for emergencies. Usually these calls involve locating a missing person. The unit also helps the Marine Casualty Investigation Board as part of its investigations into accidents at sea.
We are active in schools on crime prevention and safety issues for children in the UK, Germany and the Isle of Man and we participate, for example, in Her Majesty’s Prison Service’s Prison Me – No Way! campaign to help young people avoid mobile phone crime.
We publish leaflets on our website www.o2.com to alert people to the issues of mobile handset theft and personal safety and we work hard to ensure we cover all possible ways to improve and encourage child protection.
In April 2006 the UK Government, Home Office and other agencies set up the Child Exploitation Online Protection Group to co-ordinate the work of police forces and share best practice. We have promised to help and support their efforts.
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